Pathway To Addiction Recovery

Neil Paul

Description

Alcohol and drug addiction often results in cumulative trauma that deeply affects all family members. It impacts the stability of the home and the family dynamics. Family members and friends often unknowingly enable the addiction behaviour and become a part of this "disease". This book is an attempt to help those struggling with the addiction of a loved one. It is a step by step guide that helps to understand alcohol or drug addiction, its various facets and to enable family members to give their loved ones a gentle push towards sobriety.The author has helped hundreds of families in his over 20 years of career as an addiction counselor and now wishes to help the millions who haven't yet made it to the counselor's clinic. His knowledge and insights will illuminate the pathway to recovery for all those who have been living in the darkness of their loved one's addiction.Mr. Neil Paul has been working in the field of mental health, primarily addiction and marital issues for over 20 years now. From his years of studies and experience, he has a deep rooted understanding of addiction and the ability to develop effective tailor made intervention strategies. This is his very first attempt at authoring a book, to present the vast sea of his experiences in a tiny pearl of wisdom!

Informations

• Publié par: Diamond Books
• Date de parution: 08 décembre 2021
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9788128829604
• Langue: English

Extrait

The Pathway To Addiction Recovery
A Guide for Families of Addicts!

eISBN: 978-81-2882-960-4
© Author
Publisher: Diamond Pocket Books (P) Ltd.
X-30, Okhla Industrial Area, Phase-II
New Delhi-110020
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
E-mail: [e-mail]
Website: www.diamondbook.in
Edition: 2015
The Pathway To Addiction Recovery
By - Neil Paul
Acknowledgements
I wish to thank the following persons who have been instrumental in my journey and are a great source of strength.
I want to start by thanking my parents, Late Bimla Devi & Late Prem Paul. Their countless blessings and the values they inculcated in me keep me going against all odds.
Heartfelt thanks to my US family, my sister & brother-in-law, Shashi & Arun Agnihotri who have been my pillar of support when I most needed them.
My gratitude to Dr. Sunil Mittal (Director, Cosmos Institute of Mental Health & Behavioral Sciences) and Dr. Deepak Raheja (Director, Foundation Hope), Dr. Sandeep Choudhary (Professor, Psychiatry Subharti Medical College and associated CSS Hospital, Swami Vivekanand Subharti University, Meerut), the stalwarts of the field of mental health in India, for an amazing professional partnership and great work opportunities.
I thank my better half, my lovely wife Anita f or always being there and for her unconditional love, care and concern. My hearty thanks to my children Disha-Vishal and Kapil for being my angels. You all complete me!
Lastly, thanks to all those people who inspired me to become a better version of myself each day.
– Neil Paul
Preface
I began a career in De-Addiction and Mental Health in 1995 in India. Over the last 19 years, I’ve had a wonderful journey in assisting addicts and their families to deal with the overpowering influence of alcohol and drug addiction in their lives. I have been working with individuals of all ages who are looking to explore, inquire, and work towards resolving emotional distress which has affected their daily lives in some capacity.
I realized during my practice that families are often the worst hit by an individual’s addiction. Ours is a collectivistic culture and families usually have a lot invested in each other’s well being. I also found that strengthening the family system always gave a powerful motivational push to the addict towards the pathway to recovery. This thought led to the conception of this book.
I know for sure that only a few families make it to the addiction counselor’s clinic with their problems, while the majority let the crucial time pass by in contemplation. This book is for those families, to help them understand what they’re dealing with and what are their best possible options.
If you need your loved one to walk on the pathway to recovery, not only do you need to be the one giving them a gentle push towards it, you need to walk beside them! Anyone who is willing to change can get well...
– Neil Paul
Editor’s Profile

Sanskriti Sharma Singh Clinical Psychologist ( [e-mail] )
Sanskriti is a RCI registered Clinical Psychologist and is currently freelancing in Delhi NCR. During her previous stint with a private psychiatric hospital in Delhi, she has accrued experience in both the OPD and IPD clinical settings. She has also been involved in conducting workshops in schools and corporate houses.
Sanskriti inherits her literary interests from her father who is a national award winning non-fiction author. She has previously assisted her father in his editing and translation work for many years but this is her first book as an Editor.
Editor’s Note
I have been privileged to work closely with Mr. Neil Paul over a span of 3 years. He is an institution in himself who can teach you what no book can, how to strike a chord with your patient right from the very first meeting. I have seen several families drop their defenses as he skillfully maneuvered them towards greater awareness of themselves and their patient.
Naturally so, I think he is fully equipped with the right qualifications and resources to write a book for the families of addicts, to help them as they struggle to understand and overcome addiction. I hope that I could do justice to his writing though my editing.
To put in a few pointers for the readers, the book uses terms like “alcohol addiction” and “drug addiction” in most places. These are liberally thought to include behavioral addictions as well. Also, the masculine pronoun has been used throughout the book to avoid unnecessary repetition and should not be interpreted to mean anything else.
I hope this book helps to guide families of addicts in taking concrete steps towards helping a loved one with addiction issues.
Enjoy Reading!
– Sanskriti Sharma Singh
Contents
Identifying Addiction Uncovering the Layers Through the Rose Tinted Glasses The Ugly Truth Personality Sketch of An Addict Characteristics of An Addict’s Family Bearing the Brunt of Addiction Family Roles in the Play of Addiction Breaking Out Of Codependence Putting Your Foot Down Belling the Cat Understanding Addiction Counseling Beware of the Dual Diagnosis Therapy Orientations in Addiction Treatment The Neil Paul Addiction Recovery Model Frequently Asked Questions by Families Doing It Right
Concluding Remarks
Stories That Inspire
References
Identifying Addiction
“Doing what’s right isn’t the problem. It’s knowing what’s right.”
– Lyndon. B Johnson
One of the most basic and pertinent questions that I find myself addressing as an addiction counselor is to do with the identification of addiction. Family members often wonder whether excessive use of alcohol or drugs is addiction or is it simply a lifestyle choice or a habit. Identifying the problem, I believe, is the first step towards solving one.
Lifestyle choices or even habits for that matter have an element of free will or choice. The person with a habit can choose to stop, and will subsequently stop successfully if they want to. Addiction is when the urge to take a drug is too strong to control. It’s when a drug user can’t stop taking a drug even when he wants to. When people start taking drugs, they don’t plan to get addicted. They like how the drug makes them feel. They believe they can control how much and how often they can take the drug. However, drugs gradually change the brain physiology in a significant way. Drug users start to need the drug just to feel normal. That is addiction, and it can quickly take over a person’s life.
According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM 5), Substance Use Disorders span a wide variety of problems arising from substance use, and cover 11 different criteria: Taking the substance in larger amounts or for longer than you meant to. Wanting to cut down or stop using the substance but not managing to. Spending a lot of time getting, using, or recovering from use of the substance. Cravings and urges to use the substance. Not managing to do what you should at work, home or school, because of substance use. Continuing to use, even when it causes problems in relationships. Giving up important social, occupational or recreational activities because of substance use. Using substances again and again, even when it puts you in danger. Continuing to use, even when you know you have a physical or psychological problem that could have been caused or made worse by the substance. Needing more of the substance to get the effect you want (tolerance). Development of withdrawal symptoms, which can be relieved by taking more of the substance.
Those of you who drink tea or coffee every day, first thing in the morning will be able to identify with what I’m saying. One day you don’t get your morning cup of tea and you start feeling irritable, have difficulty in your bowel movements and develop a headache as the day progresses. This happens because you have missed your daily dose of caffeine. Your body is used to it and so it can’t function properly without it. People who drink or take drugs go through somewhat similar physiological reactions, only they are much more severe and pathological.
Addiction can become more important than the need to eat or sleep. The urge to get and use the drug can fill every moment of a person’s life. The addiction gradually replaces all the things the person used to once enjoy. A person who is addicted might do almost anything- lying, stealing or hurting people- to keep taking the drug. This could even land the person in legal trouble sometimes.
However, not everyone who drinks alcohol or tries drugs becomes addicted. Why is that? What makes one person become addicted when others can use the same drugs without similar consequences? Vulnerability to this disease ranges and affects people differently. I’m sure you know people who enjoy drinking on weekends or who have been having a small peg of whisky every day without ever increasing their daily quota. Thus, clearly, merely using alcohol or drugs doesn’t amount to addiction.
Factors, such as genetics, age of first use, environment and mental health may play a part in someone becoming addicted. Factors that can increase the risk of addiction are: Family history of substance use and/or mental health Childhood experiences – abuse, neglect, trauma, grief Mental health diagnoses: depression, anxiety, borderline personality and eating disorders Pre-teen or teenage drug, alcohol and/or tobacco use External factors causing stress, fatigue, other pressures Resentments that haven’t been resolved
Alcohol and drug addictions tend to develop gradually in very small, incremental steps that are often unnoticed in the beginning. At first, the person is simply experimenting with alcohol or drugs and feeling sensations that are somehow unusual or pleasurable. Then, brain cell damage begins to accrue, and the physiological dependence drives a person back to the use and abuse of the drug. In time, the person is unable to kick the habit without some s